JOSE F. VAZQUEZ, APPELLANT,
v.
VIOLETA M. VAZQUEZ, APPELLEE
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An order finding a party in contempt must contain a recital of the facts upon which the findings of willful failure and ability to pay are based.
The trial court found the appellant in contempt for failing to comply with a prior support order. The order stated the failure was willful and the app…
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KLEIN, J.
The trial court found appellant to be in contempt; however, the order fails to comply with rule 12.615(d)(1), Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, which provides:
An order finding the alleged eontemnor to be in contempt shall contain a finding that a prior order of support was entered, that the alleged eontemnor has failed to pay part or all of the support ordered, that the alleged eontemnor had the present ability to pay support, and that the alleged contemnor willfully failed to comply with the prior court order. The order shall contain a recital of the facts on which these findings are based.
See also Amend. to Fla. Family Law Rules of Proc., 723 So. 2d 208, 213-14 (Fla. 1998).
This order, which states that appellant’s failure to comply with a prior order “was willful,” and that husband “has the ability” satisfies the first sentence of the rule but contains no recital of the facts on which the findings are based as required by the second sentence of the rule. Appellee argues that these findings, as required by the first sentence are sufficient, without more, to satisfy the rule. If appellee’s interpretation were correct, the last sentence in the rule would be meaningless.
We construe the rule to require the trial court to identify the sources from which appellant could have obtained the funds to comply with a prior order. Reversed.
GUNTHER and TAYLOR, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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Elliott v. Palm Beach Cnty. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, 59 So. 3d 1182 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)…some available asset, the contemnor holds no key to the jailhouse door”). An order holding a party in civil contempt must recite the facts upon which the finding of present ability to pay is based. Fla. Fam. L.R.P. 12.615(d)(1); Vazquez v. Vazquez, 827 So. 2d 384 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002). See also Fla. Fam. L.R.P. 12.615(e) (“The court shall include in its order a separate affirmative finding that the contemnor has the present ability to comply with the purge and the factual basis for that finding”). Pursuant to…
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Martyak v. Martyak, 873 So. 2d 405 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)…ability to pay required for incarceration.” Pompey v. Cochran, 685 So. 2d 1007 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997) (internal quotations omitted). Martyak points to Cleveland v. Cleveland, 841 So. 2d 648 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003). Cleveland relied on Vazquez v. Vazquez, 827 So. 2d 384 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002), where this court reversed a contempt order that failed to meet the requirements of the Florida Family Rules of Procedure. In Vazquez we held: the order fail[ed] to comply with rule 12.615(d)(1), Florida Family Law Rules of Proc…
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Cleveland v. Cleveland, 841 So. 2d 648 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003)…t ability to pay the support, but this affidavit was summarily rejected by the trial court apparently based only on recollection of its previous findings and rejection of previous evidence presented at other contempt hearings. In Vazquez v. Vazquez, 827 So. 2d 384 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002), this court construed rule 12.615(d)(1) of the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure as requiring the trial court to actually identify the sources from which the appellant could have obtained the funds to comply with a prior supp…
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- Amendments to the Fla. Fam. Law Rules of Procedure, 723 So. 2d 208 (Fla. 1998)